The New Indian Express ·
UN backs push for more accurate world maps; India votes in favour
NEW DELHI: The United Nations General Assembly has backed efforts to make world maps more accurately reflect the relative size of continents, with 164 countries supporting a Togo-sponsored resolution. India voted in favour, while the United States voted against. Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine abstained.
The resolution does not ban the Mercator projection or require countries to adopt a new map. Instead, it encourages governments, schools, international organisations and technology companies to consider equal-area map projections when accurately representing land size is important.
The debate centres on the Mercator projection, created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. Designed mainly for navigation, it preserves direction but exaggerates the size of landmasses farther from the Equator.
Africa is the most cited example of this distortion. On a Mercator map, Africa appears similar in size to Greenland. In reality, Africa covers about 30.4 million sq km, nearly 14 times Greenland's 2.2 million sq km.
Togo led the negotiations on behalf of the African group, with support from the African Union. The resolution describes correcting distortions in Africa's representation as a matter of "cognitive justice and memorial reparation."
"Maps shape our understanding of the world," Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said before the vote. He argued that maps "guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions."
India supported the broader principle but said no single map projection is suitable for every purpose. Indian diplomat Raghoo Puri said, "Maps play an important role in how societies understand geography and the relative scale of the world around us."
He added that "Equal area projections are particularly relevant because they preserve the relative sizes or areas of continental and territorial landmasses." India also called for a "technological and methodological neutral" approach, allowing educators and cartographers to choose projections based on their purpose.
The resolution highlights the Equal Earth projection, developed in 2018, as one alternative that represents land areas more accurately. However, it does not require countries to adopt it.
Ukraine abstained, saying some Equal Earth representations could create ambiguity over Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia. Its representative warned that adopting a projection without safeguards could open a "Pandora's box." The European Union also raised concerns about disputed territories.
The United States opposed the resolution, calling it a political exercise and rejecting its references to reparations and "cognitive justice."
"This resolution mocks the work and purpose of this institution," the US representative said, arguing that the effort to correct map distortions was part of a "much larger and more radical ideological project."
